Mafia II
Mafia II is a sandbox-style third-person shooter video game which is the sequel to Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. The game is developed by 2K Czech, previously known as Illusion Softworks, and published by 2K Games. Development of Mafia II was announced on August 21, 2007 at the Leipzig Games Convention. The game is set in the 1940s and '50s in Empire Bay, a fictional city that is based on New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. The name is a reference to New York's state nickname "The Empire State". Mafia II will be available for Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. In North America it releases August 24, 2010 and August 27, 2010 in Europe. The gameplay of Mafia II involes realistic controls featuring a standard action and violent action button, as well as context sensitive situations. The game introduces a cover mechanic not seen in the previous game which allows Vito to hide behind objects while in a shootout. There are be around 50 vehicles in-game which can be damaged until they catch fire and eventually explode. The game also introduces new weapons like the MG42 and brings back ones from the original game, like the Colt M1911A1. There is also licensed music from the 1940s and '50s. Synopsis The storyline for Mafia II is a gritty drama and chronicles the rise of Vito Scaletta, the son of Sicilian immigrants. As the game progresses, Vito joins the Falcone crime family and become "a made man" along with his best friend Joe Barbaro. The story begins with the player character Vito returning home from World War II. Vito had joined the U.S. military as a way of avoiding jail time for a botched robbery. Vito reunites with his old friend, Joe Barbaro, and the two quickly embark upon a life of crime. Their criminal ascension starts with Mikey, a car mechanic who gets in a conflict with Joe. Mikey also needs a certain type of car to chop for parts, and will pay $400 for one that the police are not tailing. Soon enough, Vito, Joe, and Henry Tomasino (already a made man) find themselves battling with, for, against, and around three crime factions: the Falcone, Vinci and Clemente families. The game contains two hours of in-game cutscenes. The original game, Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven, had a screenplay of 400 pages, opposed to the 700 pages of the sequel. Daniel Vávra, the writer and director of the original and the sequel, discussed the new angle of the game stating: "The old game was a tribute to gangster movies, a romantic vision. Mafia II is grittier, real, a darker world, and the effects are based in reality." The Official Playstation Magazine states: "A high body count is still promised in this tale set in a fictional city inspired by New York of the 1940s and '50s, but those casualties will come the hard way -- through small-scale operations rather than mass firefights." Trailers A promotional trailer was released for the game in August 2007. The first scene occurs in a low-key restaurant where Clemente Caporegime Luca, is having dinner with Henry, Joe and Vito. After some small talk, Luca asks Vito if he is against killing "human animals." Then follows a montage of clips from the game's cutscenes and gameplay. The next scene takes place in a warehouse. A man is crawling on the floor, begging for his life. Henry fires his gun at the man and the scene ends. The last scene is an obvious reference to the film Goodfellas; the three gangsters (Joe, Vito and Eddie) are in a car, driving to a suitable place to dispose of a body. The song "Oh Marie" by Louis Prima is featured in the trailer. A second trailer was released on the Spike VGA show on December 14, 2008. The first part of the trailer occurs in one of Empire city's churches and features Vito with his mother. It is followed by a montage of gameplay and cutscenes that feature scenes of Vito being welcomed by Joe and parts of several shoot-outs and pursuits. The song "Long Tall Sally" by Little Richard is featured in the trailer. An extended, high definition version of the trailer was released on January 15, 2009 with an extra 30 seconds of cutscene footage. In this new footage, Vito is shown leaving the church alongside his mother; who he drops off in a taxi. Then, a car carrying Henry, Joe, and Eddie pick up Vito and they drive off, laughing. The release date is august through to october 2010 confirmed. On 27 March, 2010, a new trailer was released showcasing the PhysX-based cloth and physics system used in the game. Downloadable content On 26 May 2010 four downloadable packs were offered as pre-order bonus, each one available with different stores. * Vegas Pack: Offers two additional cars and two suits for Vito * War Hero Pack: Two military style vehicles plus two new military inspired suits, including a full uniform and fatigues. * Renegade Pack: Two new cars; a small sports coupe and a 50s hot rod. Leather and lettermen’s jackets for Vito. * Greaser Pack: Two hot-rod speedsters and two new suits for Vito, one with leather jacket and heavy boots, the other a leather racing suit. *Joe's adventures: this DLC is found on steam and deep in the game text files. http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/1180/dlcs.jpg Collectors edition On 26 May 2010 a collector's edtion was announced for Mafia II. The collector's edition includes the following items: * Collectible SteelBookTM Casing: Brushed metallic SteelBook hard case with debossed logo containing two pieces of art featuring Vito and Joe, the stars of Mafia II. * Made Man Pack: Free access to in-game downloadable pack that lets players get behind the wheel of two different luxury automobiles modeled after cars from the period. In addition, Vito gets two new “made man” suits, including a vintage tux. * Hardcover Art Book: A 100-page photo album-style art book that explains the artistic design process of the game. * Mafia II Orchestral Soundtrack: Mafia II score recorded by the Prague FILMHarmonic Orchestra. * Map of Empire Bay PlayStation 3 version On 15 June 2010 Sony announced at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 that owners of the PlayStation 3 version of the game will be able to download the free DLC upon release, named The Betrayal of Jimmy. The second DLC, Jimmy's Vendetta, will be available for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 shortly after release. Demo A timed demo for the game was released on August 10, 2010. The official description for the demo is as follows: Vito has started to make a name for himself on the streets of Empire Bay, someone who can be trusted to get a job done. In this hot leaded playable demo, you and Joe get one of your first serious assignments, to deal with a chump that isn't playing ball the way the Mob likes it. Make a Man of yourself in Mafia II. System requirements Minimum system requirements *'Operating System:' Microsoft Windows XP (SP2 or later) / Windows Vista / Windows 7 *'Processor:' Pentium D 3Ghz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ (Dual core) or higher *'RAM:' 1.5 GB *'Video Card:' nVidia GeForce 8600 / ATI HD2600 Pro or better *'Hard Disk Space:' 8 GB *'Sound Card:' 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card *'Peripherals:' Keyboard and mouse or Windows compatible gamepad Recommended system requirements *'Operating System:' Microsoft Windows XP (SP2 or later) / Windows Vista / Windows 7 *'Processor:' 2.4 GHz Quad Core processor *'RAM:' 2 GB *'Video Card:' nVidia GeForce 9800 GTX / ATI Radeon HD 3870 or better *'Hard Disk:' 10 GB *'Sound Card:' 100% DirectX 9.0c compliant card *'Peripherals:' Keyboard and mouse or Windows compatible gamepad PhysX & Apex enhancement system requirements *'Operating System:' Microsoft Windows XP (SP2 or later) / Windows Vista / Windows 7 *'Minimum Processor:' 2.4 GHz Quad Core processor *'Recommended Processor:' 2.66 GHz Core i7-920 RAM: 2 GB Video Cards and resolution: APEX medium settings *'Minimum:' NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 (or better) for Graphics and a dedicated NVIDIA 9800GTX (or better) for PhysX *'Recommended:' NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 (or better) Video Cards and resolution: APEX High settings *'Minimum:' NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 (or better) and a dedicated NVIDIA 9800GTX (or better) for PhysX *'Recommended:' NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 for Graphics and a dedicated NVIDIA GTX 285 (or better) for PhysX NVIDIA GPU driver: 197.13 or later. *'NVIDIA PhysX driver:' 10.04.02_9.10.0522. Included and automatically installed with the game. External links * Mafia II official website * Mafia II official forum Category:Games Category:Mafia II